Monthly Archives: June 2016

Staff have another opportunity to find out more about the University’s concept master plan for the development of the Canterbury campus over the next 50 years with leading architects, Farrells.

An exhibition will run in the Grimond Foyer (Canterbury campus) on Tuesday, 5 July, from 10.00-18.00 and Wednesday 6 July, from 09.00-17.00. There is no need to book, all are welcome.

On Tuesday 5 July, there will also be a presentation from the University’s Director of Estates, Peter Czarnomski in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3, from 12.00-13.00. You will need to book your place online.

The concept master plan, developed with leading architects Farrells, builds on principles outlined in the University’s original development plan from 1963. The concept master plan contains ideas on how best to develop our campus to meet the needs of the University, as well as deliver long-term benefits to our local communities, and improve our intellectual, physical, economic and cultural connections with the city of Canterbury.

We need your comments and feedback on these ideas and these will be used to help us develop this concept into the finished master plan.

The University is also consulting with local residents, alumni, the business community and councillors in order to get a view from the local community.

The concept plan in full, along with ways to send in your comments online, is also now available on the University webpages.

The University welcomes the announcement that there is no immediate change to the UK’s participation in the Erasmus+ Programme following the EU referendum result.

According to a statement issued by Erasmus+, all participants and beneficiaries should continue with their Erasmus+ funded activities and preparation for the published application deadlines in 2016 and 2017. The UK National Agency will continue to manage and deliver the programme across the UK.

This position is supported by the statement from Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities and Science, published on 28 June 2016. His statement also outlines some initial information regarding the UK’s future access to the Erasmus+ programme.

The University has reinforced its commitment to remain a European university following the vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. We are proud to be an outward facing and international university. We are especially proud of our diverse student body and our European and international staff, and we recognise that we benefit greatly from this diversity.

A vote to leave the EU clearly raises many questions; however, the exit process is likely to take a very long time and we may not see any proposals or changes that affect students for a number of years.

If you are a EU national currently registered at the University we would like to reassure you that:

if you have been in receipt of a loan from the Student Loan Company, your eligibility to access this loan scheme will continue for the duration of your programme; – that your tuition fee status will not change; and

there is no reason to assume any change to your immigration status.

In short, we anticipate there will not be any change to your status as a student for the duration of your programme.

Equally, if you are either a EU or UK student currently registered to study under the Erasmus programme, you continue to be eligible for your Erasmus grant as long as the UK remains a member of the EU, and could well be extended beyond this.

The University is in contact with relevant government agencies and is seeking advice and guidance throughout the period of transition, particularly on the issues directly affecting our non-UK European students and we will alert you to any changes that effect you.

You can read the University’s response to the referendum and other updates on the Student Guide.

We will update this page with information on further developments as they occur. If in the meantime you have any specific queries regarding your application, please contact us via academicdivision@kent.ac.uk.

Professor Robin Gill, Emeritus Professor of Applied Theology, from the Department of Religious Studies, will be interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 programme Moral Maze at 20.00 this evening, Wednesday 29 June.

Moral Maze is a weekly topical programme consisting of debate on the week’s most important topics.

Robin will be talking about the ethical issues involved in the UK’s exiting of the European Union. Robin will argue that a central virtue of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism is hospitality towards strangers.

Two high profile conferences associated with the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research occurred this past week.

Dr Ellie Lee, Director of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies (CPCS) organised an international conference entitled ‘Parenting and Personhood: Cross-cultural perspectives on expertise, family life and risk management’ and it was a very impressive turnout with excellent papers. The Centre for Parenting has a high profile among those doing research on parenting, and the fact that that event had participants from North America and many European countries, attests to this.

Yesterday, Alex Hensby and Lavinia Mitton gave papers at the ‘Closing the gap: Research and Practice on Black and Minority Ethnic Student Attainment in Higher Education’ conference and were the key organisers of this conference too. Again, academics and policymakers from various sectors of education were present.

Each year the University selects a team of students, to compete at the Virginia Tech University in the USA along with students from other universities from around the world.
The University represents the UK to compete in this prestigious competition with other countries including Ecuador, France and Australia. Students pitch their business ideas with the chance to win $25,000 and the title of ‘Global Entrepreneurship Champion’.

The University’s entry this year is eLog, the business idea of students Cesare Dunker and Rayyan Sorefan. eLog is an app that allows users to track their journey through photo-recognition, geo-tagging and time mapping. eLog seeks to provide an inter-county service, which directly pinpoints people’s location, and directly aids the processing of migrants by governments departments.

Cesare and Rayyan put forward a business idea for the University of Kent Big Ideas Competition, run as part of HIVE, the University’s Hub for Innovation and Enterprise. The duo were selected to receive comprehensive mentoring to prepare for the Global Entrepreneurship Champion Competition and free workspace at the University’s business incubator.

We are delighted to announce the winner of the children’s script writing competition organised by Professor Ray Laurence from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies. Kien Powell from the Stowe School in Buckingham won the first prize of a £200 book token for his script entitled ‘Day in the Life of a Roman Client.’

The competition invited students aged 11-18 to write a script focussing on a day-in-the-life of an individual living in Rome. It was an exciting way for students to use their knowledge about Rome and its people to develop their own stories and helped with their revision.

The judges commented ‘Kien’s script was a bit more original and interesting, looking at life from the perspective of a Roman client. There is some detail in there about Roman life, walking through the market, bathing, and dining and he cites a clear reference to a literary source â€“ Juvenal. There is a good amount of Latin in there with accompanying explanation. Well written and concise.’

65 scripts were entered into the competition from a range of schools and it is hoped the winning script may be turned into an animated film similar to those on TED.Ed. The 2nd prize of a £100 book token went to Helena Golling, from St Edmund’s School, Canterbury for ‘Life Could Be Tough in Ancient Rome’ and the 3rd prize of three £20 book tokens went to Tahirah Hussain, Imah Begum Kadir and Sadia Wahid year 8 students studying Latin at St Paul’s Way Trust School, London for ‘Salvius vs Bregens’.

Following the results of the referendum, the UK University Minister and the Student Loans Company have today confirmed that students from the European Union already attending UK universities will continue to receive financial support.

Students starting university courses in the UK this autumn will also have their student loans funding provided for the duration.

Universities UK has provided the following advice and reassurance until further details are known:

Barring unilateral action from the UK Government, members are advised that the vote to leave the European Union (EU) does not mean there will be any immediate material change to the UK university sector’s participation in EU programmes such as Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+, nor to the immigration status of current and prospective EU students and staff.

Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty foresees a two-year negotiation process between the UK and other Member States, during which time the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union will be decided.

EU staff
Your immigration status has not changed as a result of the vote. This will remain the case until the Government decides otherwise.

Current EU students
Your immigration status and associated fee status, as well as your access to the student loan book, have not changed as a result of the vote. This will remain the case until the Government decides otherwise.

EU students with a place to start in academic year 2016/17 and 2017/18At this stage there is no reason to assume any change to your immigration status or access to student loan book.

EU students studying in the UK under the Erasmus programmeYour immigration status has not changed, and you continue to be eligible for your Erasmus grant until at least as long as we remain a member of the EU and could well be extended beyond this.

UK students studying in the EU and elsewhere under the Erasmus programmeYour immigration status has not changed, and you continue to be eligible for your Erasmus grant until at least as long as we remain a member of the EU and could well be extended beyond this.

All staff currently undertaking EU funded projectsThe UK’s status as a full participating member of the Horizon 2020 programme has not changed as a result of the referendum vote and existing project grants and contracts will be honoured unless or until advised otherwise.